Sunday, May 24, 2015

Circus minimus



Nyon may be a small town but we get a little of everything one needs to survive life in Europe. There is a castle to protect us from any pirates that might cross the lake, there is a cinema, restaurants, supermarkets, an American food shop where you can also buy any ingredient from Latin American you might ever need, a train station, Roman ruins, a handful of museums, a port where you can catch a ferry to France, live theater performances, two beaches and an outdoor pool, a yacht club where we learn to sail, tennis club where we learn tennis, music conservatory, and the usual bunch of butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. It ain't Paris but it's not bad.

In the summer, when you can't go skiing anymore, there are also a number of things to make the time pass while you wait for the first flakes to fall again. There are film festivals like the one that just finished, there are wine festivals and antique markets, there are music festivals, and of course, there's the circus! We missed the big Knee circus last year so there was no way we we going to let the Nock circus get away! There it was, just outside our window.

We watched the tent go up on the Place de Perdtemps and waited for Saturday to arrive. There were clowns and trapeze artists flying through the air, there were animal tamers and jugglers and acrobats and magicians that cut ladies in half. There was popcorn (sold by the artists during the intermission - circus life must be tough) and that animal smell that tells you it's the real thing. Raphaël even enjoyed his first pony ride. It wasn't exactly Ringling Brothers but, like Nyon, it had everything we needed.


You had to be there but there's a few snaps here: bread and circus

How lucky is papa? Papa's little schoolgirl

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Gongo's big day!



Some days you're just on fire.  Some days are just made for you and nothing can go wrong. Today, Gongo had exactly that kind'a day.

A good day always starts with the sun shining through the windows and a clear view straight to the Mont Blanc. But better days start when you lose your first tooth! Yeap, Gongo had been waiting for ever, 'cause a lost tooth means big bucks from the tooth fairy.

"Mama, could I have an apple?" "Really? You never ask for food,  much less an apple. Do you feel alright?"

Apples didn't do it. Corn on the cob didn't do it. There were no pears. But this morning the chewing gum pulled that little hound dog right out. Payday!

Must'a been the tooth that charged the way because this day was going to be special. Special as in ride-a-bike-without-training-wheels-for-the-first-time special. That's pretty special.

Raphaël was not one to be left behind. Chalk up a first ride on a manège for the Guigui!



Triumph of the will baby! Triumph des Willens!

Wanna see what a great Sunday looks like on Lake Geneva? Why not check these out: I still bite.